Maxi Camping: The Adventure Begins

There I am on Thursday afternoon, all ready for our MAXI-CAMPING trip. Mister Man has gone on ahead to set up the campsite (in the POURING RAIN!) (all by his own self!) (getting soaked right through to his skivvies!!)

So after work, I head to The Westcoast Express to ride the commuter train for the first time. I get there nice and early, select my seat and wait for the adventure to begin.

The train slowly fills up. And then we sit there, and sit there, and sit there. And nothing much happens (which doesn't freak me out at all, as I consider it part of the adventure). Then an announcement comes on saying "There's been a police incident on the tracks near the Second Narrows Bridge, so we're unable to leave the station at this time." The phrase "police incident" when used in conjunction with any form of public transit, is NEVER a good thing. However, I choose to sit a little longer, because this WAS a big adventure. And what else was a girl to do?

After the second announcement, and a fellow passenger doing a little re-con with the train staff, MOST of us left the train in search of other transit. I DID end up taking a train, but it looked like this. This is NOT your fancy spankin' new commuter train. THIS is the everyday, ordinary pedestrian Skytrain.

And Mister Man had to pick me up and cart me back to the campsite which was very cosy despite the torrential downpour. I tried to capture the downpour here, and you can't REALLY tell, but those BIG THINGS in the photo are rain drops. BIG TORRENTIAL raindrops. The kind that fall when you live in a rain forest.

But you know what? We were nicely prepared. Mister Man had made a comfortable camping cubby hole, and we hunkered down over a beautiful fire, under a tarp and watched the rain blow by. We were totally cozy dressed from head to toe in fleece and wool, roasting mallows on an open fire and just being at peace with the world.

Friday morning dawned with scattered showers and the promise of sunny skies. And we got ready to receive visitors and our "superfun!" fellow campers. See if you can spot some of the Princess Camping necessities on the table... and yes, there MAY be a quiz!

Stay tuned for the further adventures of Nature Girl, Mister Man and the Camping Princesses Miss Annie and Lara, with special guest appearances by Bob, Merilee and Doug the Demon Squirrel.....

Mini-Camping, Princess Style

When we went to the party at The Ranch, the plan was to camp at Porpoise Bay, one of the hundreds of Provincial Parks we have in B.C. (which is pretty fortunate, because these parks are really quite spectacular). This seemed beyond exciting, because this mini-camping trip would serve as a warm up for the MAXI-camping trip that's set to take place on the first weekend in October. (Mister Man really loathes it when I call it MAXI-camping, as it does sound like a menstrual product. But language be damned, I love the mini vs maxi camping concept.)

The day started brilliantly. I was not the driver, and Mister Man brought me THIS in bed. It is a CAMPING COFFEE gentle readers. It consists of espresso, cream, a dollop of whipped cream and a shot of Kahlua. It is perfection in a cup. And it is how I started my day on Saturday!

I had packed the things required for princess camping such as a duvet, a sleeping bag, 2 therma rests, coffee, 2 stovetop espresso makers, cream, whipped cream, Kahlua, a variety of lighting devices (the Coleman lamp, the headlamp, the tea lights), the camp stove, the assorted wash cloths, the t.p. and paper towel... etc. etc).

But somewhere along the line I forgot 3 things. (In all seriousness, this is because I had worked the night before, and didn't actually crawl under the covers until the wee hours of the morning. And well, this gal's not great on too little sleep!) I managed to forget my pillow *WAILS* "MY BEAUTIFUL PILLOW(s)"!!! And I forgot a mug for the coffee! GAH! (though I would have drunk the coffee straight from the pot if I had to) and I forgot a spoon! (which simply meant I had to pat the coffee into the espresso maker with my fingers.) And we had to "serve" the whipped cream by dipping our fingers into the plastic container and then "flicking" the cream into the coffee (which was followed by much slurping of the fingers to remove the remaining whipped cream!) (which was really kind of fun and oh-so-decadent in a Roman kind of way)

But I digress. To begin, one would think that 3 women going camping for 1 night would only require a couple of bags. I mean, we weren't preparing a MEAL at the campsite, merely coffee and snacks. But here's the sad truth. When Annie and Lara pulled up and took one look at my STACKS of baggage and stuff, they looked kinda scared. I thought it was because I was trying to make like a turtle and carry my house and maybe they realized they were about to head into the woods with a certifiable maniac. Turns out they had done the same thing. Essentially we filled the trunk of the car, and then the backseat, and then the back window. It looked like we were moving for god's sake!!! *shakes head sadly* Imagine how this might have looked if I HAD remembered my pillows!

Once we got to the ferry, we discovered FRIENDS!!!! Yes, we met some other folks who were heading to The Ranch. Luckily, along with the rest of my house, I had packed my travel scrabble set, so we sat down to a game of scrabble. Reg was kind of like a cheerleader. Hovering over our shoulders and muttering "oh I see something there" under his breath. We let him share his insights with the person holding the tiles.

Here is yer everyday, average B.C. Ferry.

[Sidebar note: in the above photo, is it me or do you think buddy is looking right at the camera? Sort of posing? Cuz I think he might be. He sort of looks like a game show host, don't you think?]

Annie wasn't happy with her tiles. Who could blame her? This might be a good word in Sweden, but HELLO!

Okay now time for a commercial break and a sliver of advice for you camping neophytes. You see I have learned how to camp from 3 places. The first was camping at the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, where I learned how to deal with the *whispers* "needing to pee in the middle of the night but not being willing to walk half a mile to the outhouse/porta toilies, nor being willing to crouch and pee all over your shoes" issue. 8,000 women figure stuff like this out when they're in nature together (and they can't all be peeing in the bushes or it will mess up the ecological balance). It's best with a 4 litre jug, but this will do quite nicely.

Essentially, you take your plastic milk jug, comme ca.

And you cut off the top of it at an angle, comme ca.

You tuck it next to your tent, comme ca.

And when you have to pee in the middle of the night, you simple hold it up to your... spout, and pee. In the morning, you can take it to the outhouse for disposal. Or you can find a tree under which to dump it (if there aren't 8,000 of you on one piece of land). Mister Man is shrieking by now. He asked me not to post this detailed information. But for every one of his shrieks, there is a female novice camper out there who is CHEERING! BECAUSE I HAVE JUST SHARED A PIECE OF INFORMATION THAT COULD CHANGE HER EXPERIENCE OF CAMPING FOREVER MORE!!!

From the ferry, we went and set up our campsite. I love being out in nature like this! (especially if I have bug spray)

Tent of Annie and Lara. Very cute. My mini-tent wasn't nearly as cute and colourful.

And THEN we had to have a game of Catan before heading over to the party. Natch! Because that's just what we do.

We had some exotic food. (Cornichon a l'aneth delirant)

And we decided that this bottle of wine was PERFECT for camping, because it was the "weiner of wines" (meaning it has all the left over bits in it: malbec, cab sauv, shiraz, petit verdot). But for a $13 bottle of vino? Not bad at all.

And of course, you can't be all camping and stuff, unless you've brought some homemade treats. These are peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, and I don't mind telling you that they are the BEST PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES ever. I'll post the recipe in a couple of days. Annie is clearly a better hand model than I am.

One of the very best parts of camping though, is something that is impossible to photograph, and that is the silence that happens before dawn breaks. I woke up in my tent and I could hear nothing except for the sound of my own breath. It was cool and breezy, dark as pitch and profoundly quiet. As I lay there, alone in my mini-tent, I smiled and sighed. I was at peace with the world.

(And then I fell asleep and drooled on the camp pillow I bought at the Canadian Tire in Sechelt.....)

Princess Camping Part 1

I am going to embark on a mini-camping trip this weekend to attend the now famous party at "The Ranch". While this is NOT "The Ranch" as in "Skywalker Ranch" as in "George Lucas", it is still a pretty happening place that houses some pretty cool folks. There will be all kinds of artists and activists and filmmakers and generally interesting people in attendance. So I can promise you photos aplenty.

Why here's a camping photo now from a trip I took with Mister Man some years ago. We were "painting with light in the night". Here's how it works: you wait until nightfall, and then put your digital SLR on a tripod, turn it to the Bulb setting, close your apeture to its smallest setting, and paint with light.


The cherry on top of our adventure at the ranch is that we are camping! While this may not be the BIG camping trip planned for the first weekend in October, it is a mini, one-night trip that will involve SOME elements of Princess camping. And I have PROMISED that I would post some photos and tips about how I learned to love roughing it in the woods.

First of all, I'm not talking WILDERNESS camping here. THAT is just far too advanced for me. I'm talking COMFORT! Princess camping is synonymous with comfort. Wilderness camping, on the other hand = sleeping on a bed of twigs while using a rock for a pillow and being eaten alive by mosquitos and bears. Okay, I'm joking, but really, doesn't it make sense to travel with the following items?

A comfy duvet!

AND a sleeping bag

AND an inflatable mattress (natch). Though for this MINI camping trip I will probably make do with 2 therma rests.

And pillows - SEVERAL pillows

A camp stove (for the coffee)

A stovetop espresso maker (to make the coffee)

The coffee (preferably the espresso)

The cream for the coffee

In terms of things for wearing, you need a decent raincoat (cheap insurance really), some slip on flip flop kind of things for when you want to putter about the campsite without lacing up your sneakers, a pair of rubber boots (the second installment in the cheap insurance policy) and a fleece wardrobe. My friend Doodie even had a fleece bra. I believe it was a leopard print pattern. And I'm not even kidding you.

Seriously though, fleece is great. A pair of fleece pants and socks never go astray. A fleece vest and jacket are really gonna do the trick too. Before I studied film, I didn't own a stitch of fleece. And then I found myself on a student film shoot with a bunch of women who were clad in Mountain Equipment Coop gear from head to toe. I, on the other hand was wearing: Dayton boots, black jeans, a leather jacket and a black beret. It was cold. And damp. And I was miserable. Suffice it to say that by the next shoot, I had invested in fleece. And now I can't imagine living without it.

You will also need to wear a head lamp (for reading in the tent, or washing dishes, or trying to find the contact lens you dropped at night, or so you can actually look into the bear's eyes before he - JOKING!!!). Paully and Michele gave me this one for Christmas one year. It has a white light setting and a red light setting.... It rocks!

A few other items on the list:

A stand up light (preferably one of those Coleman battery operated lanterns, so you can pretend you're in Little House On the Prairie)

Marshmallow/hot dog roasting fork thingies

Snacks (including marshmallows and hot dogs or tofu dogs)

Your own personal supply of t.p. (VERY VERY IMPORTANT)

A hot water bottle (which you fill with hot water that you heat in a pot on the fire). You tuck the hot water bottle in the foot of your sleeping bag about half an hour before you turn in for the night. Hello coziness!

If it's cold out, you want a toque for your head. It will keep the heat in at night!

This is all you really need.

Oh, and this:

Perhaps it seems counter intuitive to bring both bug spray AND After Bite. Be prepared, I say.

Normally, I travel with Tent Mahal, pictured above. This is not a fabulous photo unfortunately... But, I do promise some spectacular INTERIOR and EXTERIOR shots when we return from the big OCTOBER camping trip.

You can't really tell in the above photo, but, it actually has two "rooms" and you can actually STAND UP inside. This is a good thing, seeing as how it took thousands of years of evolution for us to actually stand upright. So, if we are able, we should probably celebrate standing upright as much as possible. And that includes INSIDE a tent! Tent Mahal was a gift from Mariette after taking wedding snaps. But THIS weekend, as I'm only in a tent for one night, I'll be putting up the wee tent. It doesn't even require a degree in engineering! In fact, it's even easier than assembling an IKEA bookshelf.

And now I will leave you with this image. What EVERY person needs when camping is a friend, lover or partner who will sit around the campsite plotting adventures on a map, while wearing SPOCK EARS. Yes folks, that is Mister Man. In his glory. Note Tent Mahal in the background. See the "vestibule"?

I can promise that the NEXT installment of Princess camping will feature some great tips like how not to pee on your shoes in the middle of the night when the chilly temperature makes you want to pee every 5 minutes.... (this one is for the women out there!)